Long Feng
by Jet556
Summary: Based off of Dracula. The sinister Count Long Feng lives in a ruined castle in Ba Sing Se, surrounded by howling wolves. Why are the local people so afraid of him? Where does he go on moonlit nights? And can it be true he is a blood sucking monster?
1. To Ba Sing Se

Aang was making his first trip abroad. He was a young Air Nomad lawyer, on his way to meet a new client, the mysterious Count Long Feng. He had travelled for days to reach Ba Sing Se, Long Feng's wild, remote homeland in the Earth Kingdom.

Far away from Ember Island, Aang felt uneasy. He did not sleep well.

Aang reached a gloomy old inn, where he asked for news of Long Feng. The innkeepers shuddered and insisted on giving him a cross! Why?

They handed Aang sealed instructions sent by Long Feng. He had to ride by coach to the Omashu Pass, on Kuruk's Eve, when the local people believed that evil spirits wandered. His fellow travellers tried to warn Aang of the dangers, but he didn't understand them.

It was dark when they reached the pass. A carriage appeared at breackneck speed, driven by a tall man with glowing eyes. Aang climbed aboard.

As they drove off, wolves snarled around them and eerie green flames flickered in the darkness.


	2. Long Feng's Castle

At last, they reached a huge, half-ruined castle, towering on the brink of a precipice. The driver vanished. The castle semed deserted, but finally Aang heard footsteps. Slowly, a locked door opened with much creaking and groaning.  
"Welcome to my house! Enter freely and of your own will!", welcomed Long Feng.

They shook hands, and Aang shivered horribly. Long Feng's strong grasp was cold and chilled, it was like touching a dead man's fingers! Long Feng lead the way through dim, cobwebbed halls to a richly furnished chamber.  
"Let me see to your comfort...", said Long Feng.

Aang was cold, tired and hungry, so he enjoyed the meal that had been prepared for him. But he wa surprised to see that Long Feng didn't eat or drink anything.  
"I trust you will find all you wish.", said Long Feng.

Wolves howled outside.  
"Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!", exclaimed Long Feng.

Aang noticed Long Feng's hairy palms, and his nails, which were as sharp as claws. Nervously, he went to bed. They had talked so long that it was almost dawn.

The next day, Aang slept late. Just after sunset, Long Feng arrived. Aang asked about the books on the shelves. They were all about Ember Island.

Long Feng explained why he needed Aang's help.

The house he wanted to buy was called Sozin. Aang told him that it was a big, old house, dark and gloomy. Long Feng was pleased: a house like that would him well.  
"I love the shade and shadow.", explained Long Feng.

That night, Aang couldn't sleep. He got up, dressed, and shaved before sunrise. Suddenly Long Feng appeared, looming out of the darkness. But he cast no reflection in Aang's shaving mirror!

Aang was so startled that he cut himself with his razor.

Long Feng bared his pointed teeth, and seemed to want to lick the blood.

But, when he saw the cross given to Aang by the innkeepers, he stopped at once. Angrily, he threw the mirror out of the window.  
"Take care! It is more dangerous than you think in this country.", warned Long Feng.

Once Long Feng was gone, Aang decided he must find out more about the castle. But his door was locked, and there was a sheer cliff outside the window. The castle was a prison and he a prisoner.


	3. Beautiful and Deadly

Long Feng pretended to have servants, yet he did everything himself. Why was he all alone in this ghostly, ghastly castle?

Every night he visited Aang and talked about his famous ancestors. Most were warriors, brave and patriotic, but utterly ruthless to their enemies.  
"We have a right to be proud.", said Long Feng.

Long Feng wanted Aang to stay a month longer in the castle.  
"I will take no refusal.", stated Long Feng.

He told Aang to write to his employer, Iroh, to say that he was not coming home yet. Secretly, Aang wrote to his fiancee, Katara as well.

Long Feng warned Aang never to fall asleep in the castle, except in his own room.  
"There are bad dreams for those who sleep unwisely.", warned Long Feng.

Despite his fear, Aang was determined to explore. On a bright, moonlit night, he searched for a window from which he could see Long Feng's room.

What he saw was unbelievable: Long Feng crawling headfirst down the wall like some huge, loathsome mongoose dragon!

Forgetting Long Feng's warning, Aang fell asleep in an empty room. He woke to see three beutiful women.

They cast no shadows, but moved noiselessly in shimmering clouds of moonlight.

One woman glided towards Aang, smiling seductively...... but Long Feng stormed in, grabbed the woman by the throat and dragged her away.  
"How dare you touch him? This man belongs to me!", stated Long Feng.

He threw the women a sack, which wriggled as if there was a living creature inside it.  
"When I am done with him, you shall kiss him at your will.", said Long Feng.

The women snatched the sack and pawwed at it greedily. Then they faded into a cloud of dust in front of Aang's astonished eyes, and drifted away.

Aang fainted with shock. He woke in his own bed. Long Feng must have put him there.


	4. Long Feng Disappears

Long Feng ordered Aang to write three letters, dated at different times in the future. All told Aang's friends that he was well.

Aang realized that the letters were part of Long Feng's evil plan: he wanted Aang's friends to think he was safe, but then he would kill him. When some traveling people arrived to work at the castle, Aang asked them to post his secret letter to Katara.

But they were loyal to Long Feng, and they handed the letter to him instead. He was furious and burned the letter.

Soon after, Aang found that all his clothes had vanished from the wardrobe.

The traveling people brought large boxes.

Long Feng left the castle, carrying the sack that he gave to the women. He was disguised in Aang's clothes.

The only way Aang could get out of his locked room was by climbing out of the window. He was terrified, but he knew he would be killed if he did not escape.  
"Roku help me in my task!", muttered Aang.

He found his way to Long Feng's room and climbed in. It was empty, apart from heaps of gold coins. All of them were three hundred years old or more.

He made his way through a dark passage to the chapel, where Long Feng's famous ancestors were buried.

There was fifty wooden boxes, and the workmen had been filling them with earth from the chapel floor. What did Long Feng need these for? Was it some mysterious part of his plan to move to Ember Island?

Long Feng was lying in one of the boxes, on a pile of earth. His eyes were staring wide, his lips blood-red. Was he dead or alive?

Long Feng could not be allowed to go to Ember Island. Aang attacked him with the only weapon he could find, but Long Feng stirred, and Aang lost his nerve.

The workmen arrived to carry the boxes away. Swollen with blood, Long Feng was being shipped to Ember Island.

Aang made one last attempt to escape by climbing down the wall. He would rather fall to his death than be devoured by those ghostly vampire women.  
"Goodbye, Katara!", said Aang.


	5. Sweethearts and Friends

Schoolteacher Katara was writing to her friend Yue. Katara was engaged to marry Aang, and told Yue of her hopes for a busy, useful future as Aang's wife.

Yue wrote back, full of excitement. Three men had asked to marry her, all on the same day!

The first was Jet, a hard-working doctor who ran a mental hospital.

The second was Zuko, a brave adventurous traveler.

The third was Sokka, the son of Lord Hakoda. The three men had sworn to remain friends, come what may.

Katara and Yue were on vacation together in the north of Ember Island. They strolled in the peaceful churchyard, next to the ancient ruins of an abbey.  
"This is a lovely place.", commented Katara.

They made friends with an elderly fisherman named Oyajji, and they asked about the local legends. People said that a ghost, a white lady, often appeared there.  
"Fool-talk!", commented Oyajji.

Oyajji said the graveyard was a holy place. He'd soon be lying there himself.  
"A hundred years is too much for any man to expect.", stated Oyajji.

But Katara was worried about Aang, she hadn't heard from him for weks. And now there was another thing to worry about: Yue had started sleepwalking.

Iroh had a letter from Aang that said he was on his way home, but that was a month ago!

Meanwhile, at Jet's hospital, one of his patients, Ozai had started eating small creatures, alive! He put out sugar to attract flies, spiders, and birds. He caught them... crunched them up... swallowed them...and kept a careful note of the numbers. Jet was puzzled. He decided to study Ozai's strange behavior. It might have helped other scientists to understand how the brain worked.  
"It gives life to me!", explained Ozai.


	6. The Great Storm

Ember Island was blasted by a terrible storm.

A Earth Kingdom sailing ship ran aground. There was no sign of life aboard, except for a huge dog that leapt ashore and ran away.

Once the storm had died down, Ember Island sailors explored the wreck. They found the captain at the wheel, clutching a cross.

There was not much cargo, just big boxes of earth. But the ship's logbook told an extraordinary story. After sailing from Chameleon Bay, the crew complained that an evil presence was haunting them.

The weather was awful, and sailors mysteriously vanished in the night. One night, one of the sailors saw a ghostly figure.

The mate attacked it with his knife, but his hand passed straight through. What kind of creature could it have been? Mad with fear, the mate jumped overboard.

By now, only the captain was left alive. He said his prayers, tied his hands to the wheel, and died in the storm.

Meanwhile... Oyajji had been found dead in Ember Island churchyard, his neck broken.

Everyone was shocked to see the look of horror on his face, it was as if he had seen Death with his own eyes.  
"Poor dear old mam!", exclaimed Katara.

Katara woke in the night to find Yue missing. Sleepwalking again! Katara hurried after her. She found her in the churchyard, stretched out on a tomb, with a ghostly shape bending over her.

Its face was white, its eyes glowed green.

When Katara reached Yue, the creature had gone. Yue was clutching her throat, trying to catch her breath. Katara put her shawl around Yue's shoulders.

The girls walked home together.

The next day, Yue said she was fine, but Katara saw two little wounds on her neck. Perhaps Katara pricked her accidentally with the pin of her shawl?


	7. Bad Dreams, Good News

For the next few days, Yue felt well in the daytime, but anxious and restless at night. She sleepwalked, and gazed out of the window, tryng to get out. Katara looked after he carefully.

One night, a huge winged lemur fluttered outside their room. It seemed to be calling to Yue. She got out of bed and tried to follow it, still sleeping.

The next day, in the churchyard, Yue spied a tall, foreign-lookin figure. She startled Katara, and herself, by seeming to recognize him.  
"His green eyes again! They are just the same.", observed Yue.

All this time, Yue had been growing thin and pale, and the wounds on her neck did not seem to be healing.

News at last! Katara got a letter from a hospital in Jang Hui. Aang had escaped alive from Long Feng's castle......but the dreadful things he saw there gave him a dangerous brain fever. He was weak, but getting better. Katara hurried to him.

They got married right away, without waiting until Aang was well enough to travel.

Meanwhile, back on Ember Island, Yue's fiance Sokka arrived to look after her. She felt much better now: she stopped sleepwalking, ate much more, and looked pinker, plumper, and prettier than ever.  
"I am full of life!", exclaimed Yue.

At Jet's hospital, the patient Ozai was behaving very strangely. He was crawling on all fours, sniffing like a dog. He kept running away to Sozin, a big, empty house nearby that had just been bought by a foreign gentleman.  
"The master is at hand!", stated Ozai.

Ozai fought the nurses who tried to restrain him, but calmed down suddenly when he saw a huge winged lemur flying across the moon.  
"I have worshipped you! Now you are near!", exclaimed Ozai.

He went quietly back to his room, catching and eating flies as before.  
"I shall be patient, Master. It is coming!", exclaimed Ozai.

But he still had sudden rages. During one of these he attacked Jet with a sharp knife.

He then tried to lick up the drops of blood from the floor of his cell.  
"The blood is the life.", muttered Ozai.

Escaping again to Sozin, he fought with carriers bringing heavy boxes of earth, from the wrecked Earth Kingdom ship.


	8. Blood and Garlic

Yue, now home from her vacation, was ill again. Her neck hurt, and she had nightmares.

She was sleepwalking again, and kept seeing strange things outside her window. Sokka was alarmed, and called for his good friend Dr. Jet.

Jet, puzzled, decided to ask his wise old tutor, Professor Haru. The Professor hurried to help Yue, all the way from the Earth Kingdom.  
"The disease interests me.", said Haru.

At first Haru said Yue's illness was worrying but not dangerous. But that night she took a sudden turn for the worse. She had lost blood, and needed an urgent transfusion! Sokka offered to give his blood for Yue, and she was saved, for now.

Haru was worried about Yue's neck wounds. He returned home to consult his text books.

Jet guarded Yue all through the night. She slept peacefully and looked healthy. But the next night, Yue slept alone......and by morning, she was worse than ever. Haru returned, and gave her some of Jet's blood. Again, Yue recovered.

Haru shut Yue's window, gave her garlic flowers to wear, and hanged garlic at the window. Yue felt bettwe.  
"These are medecines.", explained Haru.

But no one explained to Yue's mother what the garlic was for! She took it away and opened the window, thinking that fresh air would be good for Yue......and by morning she was closer to death than ever. Yet another transfusion was needed, this time from Haru himself.  
"The power of the devils are against us!", exclaimed Haru.

A few nights later, as Yue and her mother lie awake, they heard howling all around. Suddenly the bedroom window shattered and the wind rushed in. In the opening, the two women saw the head of a great grey wolf.

Terrified, Yue's mother clutched at the garlic flowers, tearing them from Yue's neck. She fell back onto the bed. Yue realized that her mother had died of fright.

Yue couldnot move, as though she was under a spell. The wolf had gone, and the air was filled with a shimmering, moonlit dust that poured in through the broken window.


	9. Lovely Yue Dies

The next morning, Jet and Haru fought to save Yue's life. This time Zuko offered his blood. But where had all the blood gone? Who, or what, was taking it from her?  
"A brave man's blood is the best thing on earth!", stated Haru.

Jet watched over Yue that night. It seemed to him that her teeth looked sharper than usual. Once again, a huge winged lemur flapped outside.

In her sleep, Yue pushed the garlic flowers away.

By morning, her neck wounds had vanished. Haru summoned Sokka at once.

Yue woke, and asked for a farewell kiss. She looked so lovely! He was heartbroken.

But Haru pushed them apart. Yue was furious! A strange, cruel look came into her eyes, she snarled like an animal.  
"Not for your life!", warned Haru.

But finally her old, sweet self returned, and she died peacefully. Haru placed a crucifix on Yue's mouth......but in the morning he discovered that the housemaid had stolen it. He said that they had to remove Yue's head and heart. Jet was horrified.  
"It is too late! There are strange and terrible days before us.", said Haru.

Katara and Aang had come back to Ember Island, and were busy working together. Iroh had died. He had left them his house and law business. Aang was stronger, but not yet fully recovered.

One day, Katara saw Aang staring at a tall man with red lips and white, pointed teeth. She thought the man had a cruel expression, but Aang seemed to recognize him.  
"I believe it is Long Feng, but he has grown young!", exclaimed Aang.

Aang was shocked, and had to sit down and rest. Katara knew that Aang kept a secret diary in Ba Sing Se, and she now decided that she had to read it. Once she knew what he suffered, she might be able to help. She didn't want him to be ill again.

Back home, they heard the sad news that Yue and her mother had died. With a sorrowful heart, Katara started to read Aang's diary. It was terrifying!


	10. So Soon!

Haru visited Katara to ask her about Yue. She showed him the diary she kept. It was in shorthand, which she had learned to help Aang in his work.  
"Oh, Madam Katara, tell me all that you remember.", asked Haru.

Katara also gave him a copy of Aang's diary. She did not understand its stories of ghosts, wolves, and magic. But Haru told her that Aang wasn't mad, all he had written was true!

The visit ended, and Aang took Haru to the docks. He bought newspapers for the journey.

The headlines were shocking: children on Ember Island had been found half-dead, with bites on their necks.  
"So soon! So soon!", exclaimed Haru in horror.

Haru visited Jet. Haru said that Yue had been killed by a blood-sucking creature. Now another such monster was on the prowl......and he thought it was Yue! Jet couldnot believe this, but Haru said he would prove it.

Together they visited the hospital. The children had bite wounds on their necks, like Yue's.

That night, they went to the Ember Island churchyard where Yue was buried.

They found her tomb, but it was empty! This did not surprise Haru, but Jet was horrified.  
"What are you going to do?", asked Jet.

They went outside, and saw a small child in the churchyard. A ghostly figure was bending over it!

Luckily, the child was unharmed.  
"We were just in time.", said Haru.

The next day, they went back to Yue's tomb in daylight. She was back! But her lips were redder than before, and her teeth were like fangs. And, a week after her death, her body was not decaying.  
"See, they are even sharper!", stated Haru. "You believe now?"


	11. Undead!

Yue, had been bitten by a vampire, a monster that fed on the blood of living people. She had become a vampire, too.  
"She is undead!", explained Haru.

Like the ghostly women in Long Feng's Vastle, she was now a evil, blood-sucking creature.  
"The undead are desperate.", continued Haru.

To give Yue peace, and save her soul, they had to kill her once again. Sokka, who was Yue's fiance, had to give permission.  
"Is this all a nightmare?", asked Sokka.

At midnight they all went together to Yue's tomb. Once again, they found it empty.

Haru sealed the door of the the tomb with a paste made from Communion wafer!

They waited, until a ghostly figure appeared in the distance. It was Yue, but looking more fierce and cruel, and with a small child in her arms!

Wild and blood-stained, Yue glided towards Sokka. Her voice was sweet.  
"Come to me, Sokka. Leave these others and come to me.", said Yue.

But Haru's cross halted her. Yue's eyes blazed with fury. She spat and growled viciously.

Yue backed away while Haru removed some of the wafer. She slided through a tiny crack......and returned to her coffin.

Now Sokka had to act. He hammered a wooden stake through vampire Yue's heart. She writhed and screamed, then grew calm and still. Yue was no longer a monster, now her soul could go to the Spirit World.

Sokka kissed Yue for one last time. Now it was farewell, forever.

There was one more dreadful duty. Haru cut off Yue's head, then filled her mouth with garlic and sealed the tomb.

Yue's soul was saved, but Long Feng, the vampire who attacked her, was still free. And now he was seeking victims on Ember Island. He had to be caught and destroyed, somehow!


	12. Hunting Long Feng

Katara visited Jet at his hospital. He was reading Katara and Aang's diaries.

She offered to help out with the notes Jet had been keeping. These notes would help them all to understand the terrible events more clearly.

Aang and Katara were to stay with Jet at the hospital. They made a list of everything they knew so far about Long Feng.  
"We have put all the papers on order.", said Aang.

Sokka arrived. He was overcome with grief for his pretty, lively Yue. Katara did her best to comfort him.  
"Let me be a sister to you in your trouble.", said Katara.

Yue's death had also made Zuko very unhappy. He said they must work together to track down her killer.

Jet took Katara to visit his strange patient, Ozai. With Katara, Ozai was quiet and polite, and described his odd thoughts and feelings camly.

For the first time, all the friends met together. Haru explained what vampires were. They had no shadow or reflection, and they slept in graveyard earth. They could change shape, into wolves or winged-lemurs, for example, and they grew young again after drinking fresh blood!  
"This vampire which is amongst us is as strong as twenty men.", explained Haru.

Garlic and crosses would stop a vampire. They couldn't kill in daylight, cross running water, or enter a house uninvited. A stake through the heart would kill then, cutting off the head brought them peace.  
"It is a terrible task that we undertake, for if we fail he must surely win.", said Haru.

Haru had bought the house at Sozin, close to the hospital.  
"We are determined to destroy this monster.", stated Haru.

He had fifty boxes of graveyard earth brought there from his castle chapel, by the haunted ship. As soon as Long Feng's full of blood, he would sleep in one of those boxes until he was ready to attack again.

Zuko had seen a giant winged-lemur outside, and tried to blast it.  
"Sorry!", apologized Zuko.

At the same time, Ozai was begging the nurses to set him free. Jet was called to see him. Ozai talked sensibly at first, then became frantic.  
"Let me out of this! Woe is me!", begged Ozai.

He said he had an important reason for wanting to be let out, but he would not say what it was. Was it something to do with "the master," perhaps.  
"Hear me! Hear me! Let me go!", said Ozai.


	13. Invitation to Kill

The men armed themselves with knives, wafers, crosses, and garlic, and went to the chapel at Sozin to hunt for Long Feng's boxes. There was a horrible smell of death and decay. But they could find only 29 boxes. What had Long Feng done with the others.

They thought they saw a tall, shadowy figure looming in the doorway, then hundreds of elephant rats squirmed all over the chapel floor.

Sokka whistled for his polar bear dogs. They were afraid at first, but at last they chased the elephant rats away.

Meanwhile... all day, Katara had been looking very tired and pale. She had been crying, which was unusual for her.

She couldn't forget something that happened the previous night. She couldn't sleeo, so she looked out the window.

A thick mist came creeping into the bedroom, and turned into a tall, ghostly figure with glowing green eyes! Was it a dream.

Aang discovered that Long Feng had bought another house on Ember Island.

Meanwhile...Ozai seemed to want to talk about "souls" and "blood." Jet just couldn't understand him.

Later that same night, Ozai had been fighting, and he was terribly injured. No, worse, he was dying. But how could this have happened? He had been locked in his cell all alone.

Jet called for Haru. Ozai had to stay alive long enough to explain!  
"I am dying. I have but a few minutes.", stuttered Ozai.  
"Tell us, Ozai.", replied Haru.

He said he saw Long Feng several times, right outside the hospital.  
"He beckoned me to the window.", said Ozai.

Long Feng offered Ozai millions of rats and flies. In return, Ozai promised obedience, and invited Long Feng into the hospital!  
"Every one a life! All red blood!", continued Ozai.

Tonight, Long Feng appeared again, and Ozai attacked him. He realized that Long Feng had been trying to prey on Katara, and wanted to stop him. But vampires had superhuman strength, and Ozai was fatally wounded.  
"He had been taking the life out of her!", finished Ozai.


	14. Bride of Long Feng

Haru and the three friends rushed to Katara's room. A dreadful sight met their eyes, Aang was unconscious on the bed, and Long Feng was attacking Katara.  
"This is life and death!", exclaimed Haru.

Long Feng had bitten Katara's neck, and now he was forcing her to drink his own blood. It trickled from a wound on his chest, and was smeared around Katara's mouth.  
"Now you shall come to my call!", stated Long Feng.

Haru sprang towards him, with cross and wafer. Long Feng was mad with rage, but was forced to retreat, growling and snarling.

Zuko and Sokka chased after Long Feng. Haru tried to wake Aang.

Katara was hysterical, screaming and crying. She had bite marks on her neck, just like Yue's.  
"What have I done to deserve such a fate?", asked Katara.

Long Feng's blood had made Katara his slave. He now had the power to control her mind. But Katara said she'd rather die.  
"Help us!", pleaded Aang.

Haru said she must not die. Katara had to stay alive until they had caught and killed Long Feng. Otherwise she herself would turn into a vampire......and have to drink blood, like Yue.

By now it was daylight. Haru said they had to catch Long Feng before nightfall. They would purify his boxes, so he could not use them to sleep in, all except one box, where they would trap him and kill him.  
"We have this day to hunt out all his lairs.", said Haru.

The men ha to go out to hunt Long Feng and his boxes, but Katara had to rest at home. Bravely she said that she would continue to work, and try to go on living.

Katara would be safe. Surely Long Feng would not dare attack again before nightfall.  
"Do not fear, my dear.", reassured Haru.

For extra safety, Haru blessed Katara with a holy wafer. But it burned her flesh, and leaved a sinister blood-red scar!

Could she have been turning into a vampire already?


	15. One Box Missing!

The men hurried to Sozin Chapel and scattered holy wafers in the boxes there. Long Feng couldn't hide in them any more, but he still had his other boxes, all hidden.

They tracked down most of them in Long Feng's new house and other places on the island.

By the end of the day they had found all except one. Where could Long Feng have hidden this last box? He must have known Haru would be looking for it!  
"This place smells so vile!", commented Sokka.

They went back to wait in Long Feng's house. They planned to attack him as he walked in.  
"Have all your arms!", ordered Haru.

At last they heard Long Feng coming! His key turned in the lock, and his heavy footsteps got closer. The friends were tensed and eager, ready to leap out at him.

Alas! Long Feng was far too quick and strong for them. He sprang away from their outstretched arms and smashed the knives from their hands.

The friends tried to force him into a corner. Long Feng backed away from their crosses......then hurled himself forward and knocked them to the floor. He rushed across the room and leapt through the window.

With a scornful look, Long Feng ran away, dropping some of the money he saved for his escape. Again he escaped!

The friends were downhearted. But Haru told them not to worry, Long Feng had left many clues behind. They would catch him, sooner or later.  
"We have learned something, he fears us!", said Haru.

They hurried back to Jet's hospital, where Katara was waiting for them. She was still very pale, shocked, and sad, but she had an amazing favor to ask them. Katara begged them to help Long Feng's soul find peace, just as they helped her poor friend Yue. The men all wept. Katara was so kind and forgiving!


	16. Reading Katara's Mind

Before they could kill Long Feng and give him peace, Haru and his friends had to track him down. Katara thought she could be able to discover where he was hiding.  
"I have an idea." stated Katara.

Ever since Katara drank Long Feng's blood, he could "speak" to her just by thinking. She asked Haru to hypnotize her, he could be able to find out what Long Feng was thinking.

Long Feng could be on board a ship. Katara was delighted, surely she would be safe now, if Long Feng had left Ember Island?

No! Haru explained grimly that Katara was still in danger. Unless they could kill Long Feng while she was still alive, she would stay undead, a vampire, forever.  
"We must find him!" exclaimed Haru.

Hearing this dreadful news, Katara fainted.

The friends tried urgently to find out which ships had just sailed toward Ba Sing Se. Newspapers reported that there was only one, the Fire Lady Ilah.  
"He is clever, h so clever!" commented Haru.

As fast as they could, they hurried to the Ember Island docks. A docker told them that a tall, pale man boarded the Ilah, taking a big, heavy box as cargo.

They also heard that the Ilah was late leaving port because a mysterious fog delayed it. The fog appeared when the captain argued with the tall, pale men......but vanished when the big box was loaded. Then the tall man disappeared. The dockers didn't know why, but Haru understood, Long Feng was on board the Ilah, hiding in his last box of Earth.

The friends had to follow Long Feng to keep him from reaching his castle. Haru warned that Katara could not know their plans, Long Feng's power over her mind could make her betray them.  
"We must get ready!" stated Haru.

Haru saw worrying changes in Katara every day. Her teeth were sharper, her eyes looked fierce, her scar would not heal. The men were almost ready to leave when she asked to travel with them.  
"I must go with you." said Katara.

Katara still needed protection from Long Feng's power, but she still hoped she could help them. She made all the men promise to kill if she started behaving like a vampire.

Before they left for Ba Sing Se, Katara asked Aang to read the Burial Service to her. For him, it was unbearably sad, but she found it comforting.


	17. Long Feng's Final Journey

They all caught the first ship to Gaoling, the port on the sea to which Long Feng's ship was heading.

The men prepared deadly weapons, sharp knives. Katara's mood kept changing, sometimes she was restless and alert, sometimes dull and sleepy.

Long Feng realized he was being chased and cut his mind off from Katara. But she was still able to work out that he was following an ancient route used by his ancestors.  
"Oh, you so clever lady!" commented Haru.

The friends left the ship and split into three groups. Aang and Sokka took a boat on the river.

Jet and Zuko rode on ostrich-horseback over wild mountains.

Katara and Haru travelled by road. Katara now wouldn't eat, she slept all day and woke at night. Haru feared that Long Feng would soon totally control her.

They camped near Long Feng's castle. Haru surrounded with a circle of holy wafers. She needed special protection against the castle's deadly magic.  
"Here you are safe!" stated Haru.

That night, Katara was visited by the castle's beautiful, blood-sucking women. They called her in sweet voices to join them. Katara was paralyzed with horror. Haru's ostrich-horses died of fright.

Leaving Katara safe inside the circle, Haru bravely entered Long Feng's castle. Long Feng had not yet arrived, and in daylight no one tried to stop him.

He was looking for the chapel, and the tombs where the three beautiful women slept during the day.

He hammered a stake through each lovely woman's vampire heart, and cut off their heads. Magically, their bodies grew old, withered, and crumbled.

Meanwhile, Long Feng's box arrived in a gypsy wagon. The four friends came galloping after it. They fought, and Zuko was badly wounded.

Long Feng's box crashed out of the wagon.

They killed him before he could stir. Long Feng's evil power had ended. He would never drink blood again! As he died, Katara saw a look of peace on his face at last, before he crumbled away to dust.

Brave Zuko died from his wounds. But he died happy, because the scar on Katara's forehead had finally vanished. She was human again! She was safe!


End file.
